-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- England went into the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday after a dramatic late 16-12 victory over Scotland at Eden Park in New Zealand .

Needing to win by more than seven points to reach the last eight , Scotland led 12-3 with 24 minutes to go .

But Jonny Wilkinson found his touch to deny Scotland a famous victory , kicking a penalty and a drop kick before Chris Ashton scored a try with three minutes to go .

Scotland picked up a bonus point , but need Georgia to beat Argentina by more than seven points on Sunday to reach the quarterfinals .

` Auld enemies ' bring rivalry to New Zealand

`` It 's tough to take . We knew it would take an extraordinary effort to beat England today but once again we slipped at crucial times . It 's been the story of the last couple of weeks , '' said Scotland captain Alastair Kellock .

`` I 'm gutted , gutted . ''

England were unbeaten in four Group B matches and move on to a quarterfinal against France , whom they beat in the semifinals in Paris four years ago .

`` Full credit to Scotland , we knew this was going to be an incredibly tough game and they made it that way , '' said England skipper Lewis Moody . `` We 've come up on the right side of the result , but it was a tough game . ''

France went through despite losing for the second time in Group A , going down 19-14 against Tonga in Wellington on Saturday in the biggest upset of the tournament so far .

The Pacific Islanders needed a bonus-point win , but fell short as Les Bleus went through in second place behind unbeaten New Zealand -- who face Canada on Sunday .

`` We played really bad rugby , '' France captain Thierry Dusautoir said . `` Congratulations to Tonga . They played with their hearts .

`` We made too many mistakes and just could n't play a good game . Now we have got to sit down and talk about what we did today . ''

Tonga 's only try came in the 27th minute through scrumhalf Taniela Moa , with Kurt Morath converting for a 10-6 halftime lead .

Morath made it 19-9 in the 71st minute after two second-half penalties , as France replacement Fabrice Estebanez was sin-binned , but a late try by Vincent Clerc made it safe for the 2007 tournament hosts .

Two-time world champions Australia clinched a quarterfinal place by beating Russia 68-22 in Nelson , but could lose Drew Mitchell for the rest of the competition .

The winger scored two of the Wallabies ' 10 tries before suffering a suspected torn hamstring

Russia coach Nikolay Nerush stood down after a fourth successive defeat in the nation 's first World Cup appearance , but can take some heart after his side scored three tries against a team who had conceded just one in three previous matches .

Ireland can regain top spot in Group C by beating third-placed Italy on Sunday , meaning Australia would play world champions South Africa in the last eight .

Italy can also go through with a victory which would eliminate the Irish depending on bonus points , and give Nick Mallett 's team a clash against the Springboks side he once coached .

Wales and Fiji will battle for second place in Group D on Sunday , with the British side needing just one point to progress .

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England reach World Cup quarterfinals after dramatic 16-12 victory over Scotland

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Needing to win , Scotland were 12-3 ahead with 24 minutes to go

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Jonny Wilkinson kicked penalty and drop kick , Chris Ashton scored try to secure win

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England will next face France , who went through despite loss to Tonga